Summary
Akane and a group of girls listen as Julie -their wealthy classmate- describes spending winter break in Hawaii. While a little envious of her and bored out of her mind, Akane is used to this since Julie likes to invite everyone over to brag; but she doesn't mind since Julie usually gives her souvenirs for keeping quiet. She listens to her friend complain about Julie's behavior as the other girls gush over her luckiness. She claims it isn't a big deal before noticing Akane is wearing the same skirt she noticed she's been wearing a lot recently, then she teasingly asks if she has any money.
Humiliated, Akane keeps to herself as Julie brings the group of girls to a nearby room to show them something- but she warns them to stay quiet and not tell anybody. Inside of the locked vault the group see a withered, strange looking bonsai tree and she explains that it's why she suddenly has wealth. Everyone expresses amazement and asks her about it while Akane stands alone -having been driven to tears- wondering why they were so mean.
Her foul mood remains as she returns home to count her money. With such little change, she can't afford things like clothing, new video games, or manga. She sadly gets up to join her parents for dinner when she suddenly spots something strange outside in their yard: a bonsai tree!
Akane curiously approaches while wondering if it's the same one from Julie's, with her theory quickly being confirmed after her mother tells her Julie called. Julie asks Akane if she has seen the tree anywhere and brings up that it's gone missing; but remembering that she made fun of her, Akane denies having seen it and points out that someone probably stole it before hanging up.
As far as she is concerned this is only fair. She'll return it later.
The following day Akane decides to test out the money tree and see if it really works by visiting the grocery store, where she grabs a bunch of items and expresses bewilderment seeing it actually work. She heads for home but quickly gets distracted by the adorable Pinny-Guzzu plush in the crane machine and decides to play for it. Much to the employees amazement she ends up winning and happily leaves as she thinks about never being able to do this before; since her mother wouldn't let her spend her money on the arcade knowing it could be costly. She continues on until she sees the game shop, and she decides to grab a couple before forcing herself to get home.
Upon arrival, Akane is startled when her parents see her with a handful of bags and demand an explanation. She has no other choice, so she brings them out back to the money tree and explains how it works, although they show suspicion and ask where it came from. Akane claims it was in their yard, and soon her father quickly takes to the tree, remarking on how helpful she was to their family for finding it. Akane is very pleased and with this they start to spend the money on a variety of things; like renting expensive items or locations, eating at fancy restaurants, buying new items, buying an entire floors worth of clothing at a store, even upgrading their home and hiring maids.
By this point, Akane decides there isn't any harm in keeping the tree a little longer...
Time passes and one day, Akane shows up to school wearing a fashionable new outfit her friend recognizes from a magazine. She compliments her sudden new wardrobe as of late and they head into class, unaware that Julie was nearby. She observes Akane for a moment.
At home Akane prepares to get rid of some old, unnecessary items she no longer needs when her mother stops her before she can dispose of her bank. Because the tree makes them money she doesn't need it any more she reasons, but her mother insists on keeping it and walks away, leaving Akane to wonder why she won't let go of their old ways like she and her father have. Despite having hired help her mother insists on lending them a hand and doing things for herself, and she clearly isn't enjoying their newfound wealth.
Akane heads outside to collect their daily funds when she happens to notice the tree is now planted within the ground. Before it was in a pot. She assumes her dad did it earlier before noticing a hair accessory on the ground and recognizes it as the one Julie wears, causing her to panic and seek shelter. She waits a moment before noticing Julie isn't there, then rushes back inside.
The next day, Akane is startled upon learning that Julie is absent from school. She thinks about her hair thing as her friend brings up that she has been missing over a day now. Her mother vanished the day before, so now the police have gotten involved.
Akane thinks nothing of it and heads home to find her mother speaking to the maid, and she worriedly informs Akane of her father having gone missing. One of the maids suggests calling the police and she agrees, only to reveal that she just discovered that he quit his job sometime ago after obtaining that tree, and he's been spending his time drinking. Which only makes trying to figure out what happened to him even harder.
That evening Akane observes the money tree while wondering how three people could have all gone missing in such a short amount of time. Her mother joins her when Akane suggests they offer a money reward to find her dad, but her mother expresses concern and brings up how she can't always rely on money. She reveals the coin bank from before, surprising Akane as she explains that money doesn't buy happiness. Akane doesn't understand and brushes her off, saying that it's made them happier now that they can afford anything and everything. She should just sit back and enjoy the wealth they've obtained.
Akane turns away from her distraught mother and continues to speak- but while waiting for her to respond she realizes it's suddenly become silent and she turns to see she's now missing. Terrified by this, Akane looks around but sees nothing besides the money tree. She grabs the money on the ground and runs back inside, and she attempts to contact the police and use the money to get the best help- but time passes and despite all of their combined efforts, nobody has found any sign of the five missing people. As a result, Akane was left in the custody of her money-hungry aunt and uncle who have shown up to "watch over her".
Akane can hardly acknowledge their greediness as she sadly steps back outside to wonder why everyone would suddenly vanish. They had everything they could want and more. As Akane notices how much bigger the tree has become, she notices that here is a lot more money on the ground than before and notices a lump within the soil. She grabs a small shovel to uncover the strange object and she finds the bank again. She clutches it and notices how heavy it feels compared to when she was about to get rid of it, and it dons on her that her mother must have been putting in money. She recalls when she received it as a gift a year ago and how excited she was, and she begins to weep while remembering how things used to be. Even though her family didn't have much, they loved each other and were happy.
As she remembers what her mother said prior to vanishing, Akane declares that she doesn't want to have money anymore if it means she can' have her family. She wishes she could see them again; and as she makes this desperate plea, the ground beneath her slowly begins to shift beneath her until it suddenly caves in. Long roots begin to wrap themselves around her arms and legs to keep her still, and horrified Akane can only watch as the Tree makes a twisted expression before slowly pulling her downward.
She claws at the roots and tries to free herself while screaming for help, and in this moment she remembers the other day when she saw Julie's hair clip, causing her to realize that this must have happened to her and everyone else who has gone missing: the tree is feeding off of people to grow more money!
As Akane sees her relatives enjoying her families wealthy home she continues to call for help but they don't hear her. Swallowed by the ground, several bills rain from the tree.
A few years later, a new family is moving into the home. They are impressed by it's quality but point out this is only temporarily because they probably won't be able to afford it too long. But just then, their son joins them holding a bill he found. His parents are shocked and he brings them to the backyard to the money tree, which is shown to have grown larger as it sits firmly planted in spot.
Amazed, they remark upon this unaware of the many roots beneath the soil, entangled within the skeletal remains of everyone its claimed...
Tropes:
- Be Careful What You Wish For: After losing her parents by unknown sources, Akane wishes that she could see them again. The Money Tree complies... by tangling her within its roots and pulling her underground!
- Death by Materialism: Several of the tree's victims, but this is the first story where the Protagonist met their end this way.
- Death of a Child: Akane, Julie and Akane's younger cousin were victims of the tree.
- Grows on Trees: Money grows on the special bonsai.
- Here We Go Again!: The chapter ends with an average family moving into Akane's home when the son discovers the money tree.
- Rags to Riches: Not as extreme as other examples, but Akane went from wearing the same skirt constantly to brand new designer clothing from magazines.
- It's implied that this happened to Julie's family at the start of the chapter.
- Rich Bitch: Akane's friend described Julie as "rich nouveau bitch".
- When Trees Attack: The tree seeks nutrients by wrapping people within its roots and pulling them underground to feed off of them.
